Australia shrinking inflation: Groceries sold at Coles and Woolworths are quietly shrinking while prices remain high

Australian shoppers are finding that products bought in their local supermarket are decreasing while the price remains the same – and it’s happening all over the world.

Neal Chauhan28, a “shrinkage inflation” expert and founder of Marketing for toy soldiersstarted compiling lists of the worst examples of product downsizing he found.

Shrinkage inflation is when brands start selling less for more by reducing the size of their products but keeping the price the same, and usually the changes aren’t obvious.

Brands like Nescafe, Cokay, snickers, Oreos, Glad Wrap and Smiths chips are among the groceries that have shrunk in supermarkets across Australia.

In some cases, customers don’t realize the product is smaller until they open the package and find one less cookie or bar – as is the case with LCM’s and Tim Tams.

Mr Chauhan has collected examples of products in Australia and around the world that he believes are the trend’s worst offenders

A stunning example Mr. Chauhan found is Nescafé’s Australian-roasted Blend 43 downsize, which came with a sticker that made the change look like a good thing.

The product was quietly dropped from 300g to 250g in the supermarkets.

“The Nescafé example, I’m a little surprised they put a shiny ‘New size’ sticker on something when it’s obviously smaller in every way,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘I think the average consumer might not be too happy when they realize – given that they won’t see the 250 gram weight, they will only see the sticker.

‘It is a shame. And it’s very interesting to see how this affects people regionally as well, because it affects every corner of the world.

“We’re talking about it now, in 2023. Who knows what the products will look like in ten years?”

In Australia, sizes are declining across the board for everything from household products to snacks.

Glad Wrap’s bulk option shrank by 25 percent, with a “value package” ranging from 400 to 300 feet in length.

Buying Cola in a glass bottle, which already costs more, also results in a loss, as it turned out that the new bottle contained 15 percent less soda.

Pringles used to sell 165 grams of chips, which has now been reduced to 134 grams, but the company has made the chips smaller themselves instead of shrinking the packaging.

Smiths chips followed suit and also got smaller, with their bags going from 200g to 170g in recent years.

Mr Chauhan noted that most of the products do not shrink the packaging, which he says is a deceptive practice that fools customers

Not even candy has survived the shrinkage, with the filling in Oreos and Arnott’s Monte Carlos seemingly halved since they were first introduced.

A standard block of Cadbury chocolate, which used to weigh 250 grams before dropping to 200 grams a few years ago, has since been recut and now weighs 180 grams.

A spokesman for Cadbury owner Mondelez told news.com.au their better ingredients, including fruits and nuts, made up for it with a ‘chunkier’ experience.

But the worst offender is breakfast cereal, with big brands like Kellogg’s and Weet-Bix being the most misleading about what’s in the box.

“One of my favorite, or perhaps least favorite, examples is cornflakes. I’ve seen pictures where the total amount decreased, but the front of the box stayed exactly the same size,” said Mr. Chauhan.

A Weet-Bix value pack has gone from 1.5kg to 1.2kg, a 300g reduction for the iconic breakfast – which has since been reduced back to 1.12kg.

Consumer advocacy group Choice also recently criticized Kellogg’s for lowering the value of numerous products last year.

Crunchy Nut increased its price by 57 percent after losing 30g in 2022, meaning shoppers went from $0.90 per 100g of Crunchy Nut to $1.41 per 100g.

Fruit Loops has also been scaled down from 500g to 460g while retaining the $9 price tag.

Boxes of LCMs have lost an entire leg, with customers opening the boxes this year to find an entire bar cut from the pack – with only five in a pack.

“It feels unfair to pack your stuff in a pretty empty box,” Mr. Chauhan continued.

He said the average person walking down the supermarket aisle will just grab it and toss it into their cart, adding, “They’re not going to rattle it, carry a scale or anything like that because the average consumer isn’t going to does “I don’t know what 100 grams feels like.”

Not even candy can escape the shrinkage, with cookies cutting back on their filling and granola bars like LCMs chopping an entire bar out of the box

The worst offender, however, is cereal, with the bags shrinking inside while the boxes look large and generous

Mr. Chauhan previously spent time at Shopify, working closely with brands and sales, but since leaving the company his focus has shifted to consumer advocacy.

With recessions and supply chain problems plaguing businesses worldwide, the problem of shrinkage inflation is difficult to solve, but tackling it is the best way forward, he said.

Ice giant Ben and Jerry’s recently shrank the size of his pintsand rather than simply reducing the contents of their tubs, the company released a statement.

“Maintaining top quality ice cream and high quality ingredients comes with rising costs. And so we made the difficult decision to make our tubs a little smaller,” their statement said.

“We wanted to be transparent with you because we care about you, our fans and our communities as we make the best ice cream in the world.”

Maintaining transparency is the best way forward, Chauhan believes.

“Companies have two choices: they can give you less, or they can raise prices. And unfortunately, quite a few products raise their prices as they shrink, which is kind of a lose-lose thing,” he said.

“I think if you’re going to reduce quantity or quality, transparency is the best way forward. I think it’s the lesser of two evils.

“People vote with their dollar and I think that goes way beyond what a lot of these brands might think.”